BY BRIAN FRANK
Our topic today represents a total departure from the emails you are accustomed to receiving from us. However, given everyone’s extreme interest in staying healthy these days, I decided the time was right to share my favorite home remedies with you. For more than two decades, I have used these three remedies personally and for my kids. They also accompany me any time I travel domestically or abroad. They have been in widespread use for centuries and I believe they are extremely effective. I am talking about “Thieves Blend” essential oils, Colloidal Silver, and Grapefruit Seed Extract. For today, I’m focusing on Thieves Blend. Future blogs will cover the others.
What follows is based on my personal beliefs and experiences. I am not attempting to make any curative medical claims and I have no financial interest in any company selling these products nor will I receive a commission or any form of remuneration. I am sharing this strictly for your information.
Thieves Blend - Essential oils
Use of this combination of essential oils (Citrus limon, cinnamon leaf, clove, rosemary, and eucalyptus radiata) dates back to Europe in the early 1400s. At that time, little was known about the importance of hygiene or how the disease was spread. Specific details of the story vary, but the general details are as follows: the Bubonic Plague (Black Plague) was responsible for killing between 30%-60% of Europe’s population. Historians estimate up to as many as 60 million dead over nearly a century. Despite the massive death toll and near 100% mortality rate, there was a group of people who appeared to be immune to the disease. These were the corpse robbers (or “thieves”) who would circulate freely at night and even in broad daylight, robbing the corpses of people who had fallen dead in the street of any valuables on their bodies.
The rulers were baffled by the thieves’ immunity, so they captured a group of them and tortured them until they divulged their secret. The thieves explained that they blended these five essential oils together and would dab the oil near the orifices on their head (ears, below the mouth, next to nostrils) and on the brim of their cloak hoods. The effectiveness was undeniable and this practice spread from community to community in Europe and is thought to have slowed the spread of the plague.
The practice was adapted by doctors by filling a beak-like mask with cloths soaked in the blend. They wore these Thieves Blend masks when treating patients afflicted with the plague. This is also where the term “quack” comes from in reference to doctors.
Fast forward to modern times. Little if any clinical research has been done on this blend of essential oils. Some have been researched separately and do suggest benefits in preventing bacterial and viral conditions. Nevertheless, Thieves Blend enjoys widespread popularity in the holistic- and essential-oil-using communities. The proliferation of products offered today is vast. Here are the ways I use this product:
- I carry a small bottle with me when traveling. I apply it to my ears, chin, and cheeks before going into public areas. When I reach my seat on the plane, I dab a bit on the headrest and seatback. At my destination, I apply to my face daily before leaving my room. Currently, I do this each morning after my shower.
- Around the house, I use a Thieves Blend foaming soap for hand washing instead of anti-bacterial soap. You can also buy mouthwash, toothpaste, mints, and even dental floss infused with Thieves Blend. I keep a tin of the mints on hand for any time I am concerned about exposure while out and about.
Young Living makes a lot of Thieves products as do many other brands. You can find a lot of these products via a web search or at your local health food store.
